CoMO President visits Kuala Lumpur to encourage advocacy and pledge support for the pneumococcal vaccine in Malaysia

On Wednesday 9 November 2011 Confederation of Meningitis Organisations (CoMO) President and Asia Pacific Regional Leader Bruce Langoulant visited Kuala Lumpur to lead an Advocacy Workshop with local parents and representatives from various not for profit organisations who are eager to increase awareness of pneumococcal meningitis and the pneumococcal vaccine in Malaysia.

Pneumococcal disease is what causes pneumococcal meningitis. It also is the cause of pneumonia, bacteraemia/septicaemia (bacterial infection of the blood) and otitis media (middle ear infection). In today’s world pneumococcal disease is preventable through vaccination however continues to be the leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide.

During the advocacy workshop some of the parents shared their personal stories of how pneumococcal meningitis impacted their family and collectively discussed opportunities to raise awareness of the disease and the pneumococcal vaccine available to prevent it.

“The emotions and stories shared during the workshop were consistent with the meningitis stories you hear from all corners of the world. People shared similar accounts of their experience with the pneumococcal disease and reinforced that there is a lack of community awareness of meningitis and the possible devastating affects it may have including deafness, severe disabilities and possibly the loss of life,” said Bruce.

“We all agreed at the end of the workshop that we would work together over the next six to 12 months to understand the burden of pneumococcal disease in Malaysia, currently an unreported disease in the country, and raise awareness of pneumococcal meningitis across the country.

“There are too many cases of pneumococcal disease and meningitis in the Asia Pacific Region and they can be prevented with vaccination. Our recent visit to Kuala Lumpur is an indication of the support CoMO can offer to foster and establish patient groups in other parts of the Asia Pacific Region and around the world to reduce and hopefully one day eliminate the burden of this disease. Malaysia is just the first step,” said Bruce.

Pledge to have the pneumococcal vaccine on the National Immunisation Programme in Malaysia

Web.jpgDuring the Kuala Lumpur visit CoMO also lent its support to World Pneumonia Day and the launch of a new website – www.abc4pneumococcal.com – that aims to build awareness of pneumococcal disease and the pneumococcal vaccine.

The Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP), Pitter Patter, parenting2u.com, SJ Echo and Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd launched the website that is rich in information about the disease and explains how parents can protect their children against infection. The site encourages parents and like-minded individuals to sign the online pledge to support a call for the pneumococcal vaccine to be included as part of the National Immunisation Programme in Malaysia.

Dato’ Dr Musa Mohd Nordin, co-founding member of ASAP and Consulting Paediatrician at Damansara Specialist Hospital said more than half of pneumococcal disease incidences and deaths occur in Asia alone.

“It’s important that we educate parents and the general public on protecting our children from Pneumococcal Disease. The consequences of this disease are dire yet are completely avoidable. Effective prevention methods need to be available to all children of Malaysia,” said Dato' Dr Musa Mohd Nordin.

CoMO President and Asia Pacific Regional Leader Bruce Langoulant added that we should never underestimate the strength of our voice when advocating for a safe and healthy community.

“By signing this pledge, parents have the opportunity to lend their voice to this cause and be a mobilising force towards better healthcare for all children in Malaysia,” said Bruce.

More information

For more information about any details in this article please contact the CoMO Secretariat on +61 8 9489 7789 or email info@comoonline.org.